Grantchester

I very much enjoyed seasons 1 and 2 - another "cozy" mystery series, gorgeously filmed and well-acted. The mysteries themselves are self-contained from episode to episode, while character development story arcs take place in the background to tie things together. As other reviewers have noted, the writers have made hero Sidney Chambers remarkably liberal and modern in his views. Perhaps in 1953 there were small-town vicars with such attitudes, but after a while it feels unrealistic.

For whatever reason, season 3 fell flat for me, to the extent I thought they might have changed writers. Perhaps it's the peaking of a couple of those story arcs in season 2, but I found that I no longer cared very much about the characters, while the mysteries began to feel secondary to the characters' stories. I'm unlikely to come back for season 4.

I have not read the books. Therefore I enter as a virgin into the land of Grantchester. So, to me, it is a pleasant, light, somewhat funny, charming show. If we accept the idea that the Director meant to make the show in that way, I think that it is successful. I think the acting is excellent, and the stories are within reason, and interesting,but not hard-hitting because the show is not meant to be "film noir". It is light entertainment. I don't have to really believe that a Vicar, Sidney Chambers (James Norton),is regularly solving murders with his friend, Geordie, the police detective. I need not believe that a seemingly small town would have so many murders--one or more weekly--OK, let's say the time frame is two months apart, still.....you get it. So I give this show a 9 because I do enjoy it. I particularly like the acting of James Norton as the Vicar, but all are good.

We loved this series through three seasons. The fourth is unfaithful to the characters, has absurd plots, and is poorly written. We won't be watching Season Five.

Grantchester since the very first episode has been particularly good viewing, the concept of a clergyman helping the local detective solve all manner of village crimes initially seemed a wee bit far fetched,and better suited to the Father Brown afternoon slot,but it's totally engaging, intriguing, and sometimes contains a level of grit.

The combination of Robson Green and James Norton as Sidney and Geordie is a good one, they play of each other incredibly well, they frequently see all that is good and bad in one another. Tessa Peake Jones is particularly good as Mrs Maguire.

I can't recall seeing a bad episode, always consistent, some of the standout episodes include the finale of series one, and series three's Christmas special. I'm impressed how they manage to make each episode feel so unique, and the personal lives of the lead duo add to the story.

A perfect way to end the week, Sunday evening Grantchester. 8/10

Maybe Patzak1974 is unaware that this series is based on stories by James Runcie, son of a former Archbishop of Canterbury who had himself served as a tank commander in WW2 before being ordained. Though James wasn't born until 1959, I think we can assume that he based the character of Sidney on conversations he had had with his father about his wartime experiences and how they affected his faith.

Personally, I find the character much more believable than many portrayals of clergy I've seen in TV dramas. At least he is correctly addressed as "Mr Chambers", since the American habit of addressing priests as "Reverend" had not then reached these shores!